


The Heart Finds it Morning

by blynninja



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Multi, Other, Platonic VLD Week, team stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-27 09:48:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10001438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blynninja/pseuds/blynninja
Summary: Platonic VLD Week (possibly minus Day 1, oops)





	1. Quiet Moments

**Author's Note:**

> Platonic VLD Week
> 
> Day 1 (Feb 26): Sunlight/Moonlight  
> Day 2 (Feb 27): Quiet/Chaos  
> Day 3 (Feb 28): Lions/Bonding  
> Day 4 (Mar 1): Enemies/Family  
> Day 5 (Mar 2): Got your back/Don’t let go  
> Day 6 (Mar 3): Injury/Healing  
> Day 7 (Mar 4): Free Day/AU
> 
> I missed Day 1 but I’m gonna try to do the others, and maybe I’ll post a late Day 1? Or combine a couple of days, lol. Some of these might be short.

_Quiet_ / Chaos

A busy week of training and fighting the Galra across a couple of different planets, plus a virus that had spread through the castle-ship and put each of the Paladins down for the count for part of the week, had left the castle rather quiet.

Shiro had decided that they needed a couple of days off from training and being busy, and his team had embraced the mini-vacation.

They had spent most of today holed up in their rooms or workshops, with the exception of Lance, who had decided he needed to make use of the castle-ship’s hot tub to try to “sweat out the sickness,” as he’d put it.

Shiro had decided to spend the day lounging, commandeering a couch in the main common area and alternating between reading on one of the castle’s tablets and cat napping.

The interruptions began with Pidge.

Apparently she was done tinkering in her workshop and had nothing pressing to do on the Lions, because she wandered into the common area with a tablet in one hand and a water pouch in the other. She’d gotten the flu-like virus second, after Hunk, and it had stuck with her longer than it had the others, so she was still slightly dehydrated and sniffly. It made her crabby, and the combination of sickness and crabbiness made the others a little more apt to be lenient with her.

His smallest teammate found her way to his couch, nose still pressed to her tablet, and curled up at the end, her toes digging their way underneath his legs.

Shiro smiled and stayed quiet as Pidge silently flipped through screens on her tablet, flipping through his own tablet and settling into the quiet moment.

The next interruption came in the form of their Red and Blue Paladins quarreling as they walked into the common room, though the argument was silenced by a look from Pidge.

Lance and Keith exchanged a look, then a shrug, and slid one of the other couches closer as quietly as possible, settling onto it and shoving each other for a few moments before shifting to settle in and sit quietly. The occasional minor pushing match or quiet argument still ensued, but it was much more subdued than it would have normally been.

Hunk joined them next, bringing with him a space equivalent of cookies, plus more water pouches, several of which he set quietly on the table next to Pidge. Then he settled himself on the couch between Keith and Lance, the latter snuggling a little closer with a grin. 

Keith smiled slightly, Shiro noted, and relaxed further with Hunk’s comforting frame next to him. The trio seemed quite sleepy, Lance moreso as he had contracted the space virus most recently. 

Shiro watched over the top of his tablet as the boys slowly fell into at least cat-nap status, if not full sleep.

The mice were next, followed by Allura, who looked around at the group and smiled fondly.

Shiro caught her eye and smiled back, gesturing to the smaller couch that formed the other line of their now triangle of a seating area. 

Allura nodded and settled gracefully onto one half of the little couch, the mice snuggling in around the team. 

One settled itself on Hunk’s knee, and another in the crook of Shiro’s metal arm, which startled him at first, but it was a welcome distraction from the usually not-so-pleasant thoughts his Galra arm usually inspired in him.

The third mouse tucked itself under Pidge’s chin, and Shiro had to chuckle. Pidge didn’t even bat an eye, just moved one hand to scratch the mouse behind the ears as she drifted in and out of wakefulness.

The last mouse stuck with Allura, perching on her shoulder and nuzzling her cheek.

The only sounds in the common area were the boys’ quiet snoring, the mice’s quiet chirping noises, and the hum of the castle-ship as it plugged along on auto-pilot for the day.

Coran poked his head in later, his mouth open to ask a question, probably, and paused when he met Shiro’s eyes.

Shiro nodded toward the couch Allura had now curled up on, looking more like the teenager she had been when she’d entered that pod thousands of years ago instead of the ruler that she was.

Coran smiled fondly, if a little sadly, and Shiro waved him over, insisting that their “space uncle” take a break.

The quiet was nice, Shiro decided, in the wake of all the chaos earlier in the week. It was good to sit and enjoy each other’s company without worrying about battles or training or running around like chickens with their heads cut off as many days seemed to be.

As Coran settled into the cushions next to Allura, a fond smile on his face, Shiro mused that perhaps quiet days off would become more frequent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if anyone is artsy and wants to draw their interpretation of the couch cuddling thing, I would not be opposed to that. In fact I'll probably love you forever. Ummmm, "heart finds its morning" on tumblr maybe? Idk.


	2. Lion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge thinks about the Lions and bonds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: Lions/Bonding
> 
> Honest to goodness, I'm not sure where most of this came from. I'm not even sure I like it. But it's a chapter, and it fits both prompts, technically, so.
> 
> I just started with the idea that Pidge is a tech nerd and the Lions are robots but also like living things and went from there, I guess???

The moment Pidge had laid eyes on the Blue Lion, her head had nearly exploded.

The fact that such technology existed…

It was fascinating to see this giant creature, which seemed to be pretty sentient, steer itself to its home.

The discovery that there were four more Lions like Blue?

Even more mind-boggling.

The closer she and Shiro had come to Green, the more energy had flowed through her, a hum that grew to almost a cacophony—but a pleasant one.

The moment she had stepped into the cockpit, it was like the universe had burst open inside her mind.

Green had shown her things she never could have dreamed of.

And now here they were, a year later, liberating planets and freeing prisoners, and growing closer as Lion and Paladin.

Pidge had never been more thankful for alien technology.

The Paladin Bond was cool, and all, but the bond she shared with Green was… something else entirely.

She knew they each had a bond with their Lion, and Shiro’s seemed to be the strongest with Black, but with the Paladin Bond and the bond the Lions shared, their team bond just grew stronger and stronger.

When something was going wrong with one of them, if the Paladin Bond didn’t convey it well, the Lions emphasized it to each other, and it reverberated through their Paladins.

More than once Pidge had been in trouble and hadn’t shared it across the Bond, but the moment it became too much trouble, Green rumbled, and Pidge swore she heard the other Lions’ roars through the Paladin Bond as her team insisted she tell them where she was or how stuck she had gotten herself in a fight.

She had imagined the looks on her brother and father’s faces when they rescued them and showed them all the Lions and Voltron.

She had never expected Green to bond with Matt almost as strongly as she had with Pidge.

Her brother was currently patting the great cat’s paw, and Green was _purring_.

Green rarely purred for Pidge.

To say she was jealous would be an understatement.

But, she reminded herself, the Green Lion required a pilot of intellect and daring, and her brother fit the bill just as much as she did.

Perhaps, in a pinch, Matt could take her place as pilot.

But for now, Pidge reveled in the fact that she had her dad and Matt back, and in the contented way Green rumbled as Matt talked to her.

There were levels of bonding, she reminded herself, and it might take Matt a while to reach her level of connection to Green.

But when and if he did, Pidge knew that would be a pretty spectacular day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love so many other authors' depictions of the Lion/Paladin Bond, I can't even name them all. 
> 
> I am a firm believer that the Paladins bond with each other just as much as they do their Lions, and that the Lions bond with the other Paladins, just in different ways than their specific Paladin. 
> 
> I also feel like the second they reached their Lions and climbed into the cockpit, there was some sort of instant connection, like the Lion/Paladin bond forming for the first time or something?? Idk. Might expand on that idea later.
> 
> I also really like the idea of Matt's disposition being similar to Pidge's and the possibility of him being a Paladin one day, in a pinch like Pidge being in a cryopod or kidnapped or something. Idk.
> 
> Tomorrow's chapter might be late (like maybe Thursday) as I'm working all day and then have evening activities. Fair warning. And I'm hoping to go back and write something for Day 1 but we'll see.


	3. Family Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: Enemies/Family
> 
> Pidge has a rough day. The team is there for her. No dialogue, weirdly.

Today had not gone at all the way Pidge had anticipated, but the resolution had been good anyway.

It had started with a new update for the Lions being interrupted by another fleet of Glara showing up.

The update being interrupted had caused a … slight issue … in forming Voltron and getting Hunk’s and Keith’s bayards to work.

That had resulted in near-catastrophe, a crisis averted only thanks to Coran’s quick thinking and a far-fetched idea that had actually worked better than Pidge had anticipated.

The fight had been won, another planet liberated, but Pidge hadn’t felt very accomplished.

The interrupted update, plus several other things that had been piling up on her already—too-long to-do list, had stressed her out enough.

Add to that the fact that she was still constantly scanning the galaxy for her father and brother and, well.

A lot of little things had ballooned into a huge thing and a conversation with Hunk had found her bawling her eyes out.

Ever the patient and empathetic one, Hunk had reassured her that the updates and all her little gizmos could wait. They would still be there in two or ten or 24 hours, if she needed a break.

Shiro had poked his head into the workshop to see what was up, and had ended up staying for close to an hour, rubbing careful circles on her back as he and Hunk swapped stories of Lance’s shenanigans at school and of Shiro’s journey to Kerberos with Pidge’s family.

Several of their stories had found Pidge snorting in laughter, through the tears, and Hunk had just smiled and handed over the castle’s equivalent of Kleenex, of which he seemed to have an endless supply.

Pidge was glad it had been the two of them to find her first, because she was almost certain that Lance and Keith would have been uncertain of what to do with her bawling her eyes out over nothing.

As it was, Keith and Lance had stopped into the workshop next, taken one look at their trio, and had immediately gotten into a fight over who got to sit next to Pidge next.

Shiro had sighed as Hunk had rolled his eyes and pulled Lance into the space between Yellow and Green Paladins, and Shiro had shifted to make room for Keith.

This was how Allura had found them later, looking for her mice, who had joined the cuddle party and made themselves comfortable.

The princess had smiled as Pidge beckoned her over, and the boys had moved around with minimal grumbling to allow her the space next to Pidge.

Allura had joined the pile reluctantly, but eventually relaxed next to Pidge and started sharing stories of her parents and growing up in the castle and learning to be royal.

All the while, Green rumbled affectionately, determinedly, in the back of Pidge’s mind, the other Lions’ reassurances bleeding through as each of her teammates joined the group.

 _Family_ , was the overwhelming feeling, and Pidge vowed to never forget that they weren’t just a team—they were a family, and they were always there for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in like half an hour after a crazy night of frustration and learning that I need to reach out to people when I'm struggling. Some precious women dropped some major truth in my lap that I'll be processing for like a week, and I'm so grateful.
> 
> I like Pidge's perspective, apparently. I think it's because I see a little of myself in her, perfectionism and stuff.


	4. Don't Let Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mission goes slightly sideways, Pidge panics and remembers Haxus, but everything turns out okay in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know completely where this came from, and I'm not 100% satisfied with it but it's time for me to go to bed and it needs to get posted.
> 
> Day 5: Don't let go/Got your back.  
> (This actually contains both phrases.)

“Shiro!” came Keith’s shout from behind him, and the Black Paladin turned just in time to see a Galra soldier breaking through the line the boys had created, the soldier making a bee-line for—

“Pidge!” Shiro cried, lunging for the soldier as Pidge turned a moment too late to dodge the attack.

Shiro just missed catching the soldier’s arm and Pidge took the full force of the attack, flying backward so quickly that she barely had time to react.

Shiro put the Galra down with one well-aimed punch with his prosthetic arm and then raced to make sure Pidge was okay.

He found her struggling to her feet, rubbing her head gingerly.

“You good?” Shiro asked, gripping her arm to keep her steady as she stood.

“I’m fine,” Pidge replied quickly, gesturing to the others and insisting, “They look like they could use some help.”

“Are you _sure_ you’re all right?” Shiro asked, frowning and observing Pidge’s face carefully.

“Positive,” Pidge bit out, and while Shiro didn’t quite believe her, he knew the team needed help so he let it go for the moment.

“All right, let’s help the boys finish this fight.”

He and Pidge rushed back to the others, filling in the gaps in their line, and continued the fight.

When this group of soldiers had been defeated, Shiro barked, “Let’s head back to the Lions.”

They began their return, Keith taking point and checking around corners as they came to them.

When they reached the outside out of the mountain base where they’d left the Red and Green Lions, another group caught them off-guard and Keith launched himself at the first wave with a roar, Lance and Hunk providing supporting fire and picking off many of the others.

Shiro stuck near Pidge, keeping his eye on his smallest teammate.

A soldier came out of nowhere, crashing into Shiro and shoving him out of the way so hard his head spun.

Hunk shouted something that Shiro couldn’t quite hear, but the Bond told him Hunk was concerned—about Shiro, and about the fight.

Before he knew it, Pidge was rocketing past him—literally, with her jetpack activated—and smashing her bayard into the side of the soldier’s face, causing him to fly backward.

Pidge’s expression went from triumphant to twisted in panic as the soldier caught hold of her arm and pulled her with him toward the edge of the mountain, her jetpack stuttering out and making the panic even worse.

Pidge scrambled to escape the Galra’s grip, the boys hollering over each other in the comms about getting to her.

Shiro shoved himself forward with his robotic arm, fear and adrenaline taking over as he raced to catch Pidge before she followed the Galra over the cliff.

As Pidge flew backward in the Galra’s clutches, Shiro was bombarded with memories over the Bond: Pidge watching Haxus cling to Rover as he fell, Rover blinking as it powered down, Pidge’s tears and fear.

The feelings had him surging forward faster, determined to avoid losing a teammate even if it cost him.

Pidge reached for him, eyes wide, and Shiro grabbed her arm as a bolt of energy hit the Galra from their left. Lance whooped in their ears but Shiro barely heard it for the blood pounding in his ears.

The impact was just enough to loosen the soldier’s grip and let Shiro tug Pidge toward him, clutching her as carefully as he could against his chest as they tumbled to the ground.

The boys finished mowing down this wave of soldiers and shouted for them to get moving again, Keith and Lance heading for Red as Hunk rushed over to Shiro and Pidge to make sure they were all right.

“Are you guys good? We need to get to Green. Pidge, can you pilot?”

Shiro was really regretting the plan to only bring their smallest and fastest Lions as he helped Pidge stand.

She clung to his human hand, nearly enough to cut off his circulation, and Shiro felt her fear dissipating only slightly through the Bond.

“You good?” he asked, squeezing her hand back as he tugged her along with him toward Green.

 _Don’t let go_ echoed across the Bond and Shiro obliged with a small smile.

“Got your back,” he said out loud as they rushed toward Green, the Lion rumbling in concern and determination as Pidge settled into the cockpit, her determination rippling across the Bond as she piloted one-handed, still clutching Shiro’s hand.

Shiro let her have the contact. They were all capable of piloting without their hands when absolutely necessary, now that they’d all bonded even further with their Lions. Green responded mostly to Pidge’s mental commands this time around and they made it to the castle-ship with no more issues.

Hunk heaved a sigh of relief as they landed in Green’s hangar and nearly leapt down the ramp to high five Lance, who was grinning and crowing about his perfect shot.

Shiro and Pidge headed down the ramp after Hunk, Pidge still clinging to Shiro’s arm, and he was pretty sure she would have nearly crushed his Galra arm had she chosen to.

As they approached the boys, Pidge stiffened next to him, her grip loosening just a bit and the Bond projecting self-consciousness that Shiro combated with reminders that he was there as long as she needed him.

Keith turned to look at Pidge, concern etched on his face, as Lance paused in his self-lauding and followed the Red Paladin’s gaze.

“Pigeon!” Lance cried, skidding to a stop in front of them. “Are you okay?”

“Thanks to you,” Pidge replied with a grin, holding up her unoccupied hand for a high five, earning a grin from Lance.

“That was a perfect shot,” Pidge continued, staring at Lance more seriously than she had in a while. “If it hadn’t been, I might have been toast.”

Lance’s playfulness faltered for the briefest of moments over the Bond before he waved a hand. “You’d have done the same for me, Pidge-aroo.”

“I would have,” Pidge agreed. “But thank you, anyway, for helping.”

“Anytime, Pidgey,” Lance grinned, ruffling her hair affectionately.

Hunk hovered for a few more minutes before Coran called for him over the intercom and he rushed off with a wave and a feeling of relief over the Bond—Shiro assumed for Pidge’s safety versus being called away from the group moment.

Keith stepped closer, frown still in place, as he asked, “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Not you too,” Pidge groaned, releasing Shiro’s hand and waving hers in front of Keith’s nose. “All good. Promise.”

Keith sighed, clearly not completely convinced, but mumbled something about needing to spar as he headed out of the hangar.

As soon as everyone was gone, Pidge wilted.

Shiro caught her as she sank to the floor, adrenaline fading and her fingers trembling against his arms as he let her shift against his chest.

“I’ve got you, Katie,” he assured her quietly, and it was as though the name broke a dam within her and his tiniest teammate was nearly sobbing into his chest, her memories flooding him over the Bond again as he held her.

She had been so determined to help him, and then so panicked over those agonizing seconds of heading for the cliff, and it didn’t help that it reminded her of causing Haxus to fall and losing Rover.

Shiro didn’t say anything, just let her cry and sort through her emotions until the Bond quieted and her breathing steadied.

He wondered for a moment if she had cried herself to sleep, but Pidge shifted in his arms and asked cautiously, “Shiro?”

He knew that tone, and he smiled as he glanced at her.

“Need a lift?”

“I’m too tired to walk,” Pidge admitted, almost whining as she watched him curiously. 

“I’ve got you, Katie,” Shiro promised with a smile, lifting her as he stood and allowing her to curl up comfortably as he headed out of the hangar and toward her room.

They’d deal with healing pods later if they really needed them, which he didn’t think Pidge particularly did at this moment.

For now he was satisfied with carrying her to her room and making sure she got settled under the covers, blinking sleepily as he began to turn away.

Pidge’s hand reached out and caught one of his fingers and he turned, feeling her reluctance over the Bond.

“Want me to stay?” he asked, smiling softly.

Pidge nodded quietly and Shiro dragged over the desk chair, letting Pidge clutch his hand once more.

“Don’t let go,” he heard her whisper, almost like she hadn’t meant to say it out loud, and he smiled and squeezed her fingers gently, assuring her, “I’m right here for as long as you need.”

“Good,” Pidge mumbled sleepily, her eyes drifting closed as the Bond finally projected that she was mostly back to normal.

She was asleep within minutes, her grip on his hand loosening, but Shiro didn’t let go.


	5. Injury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge gets hurt. Shiro helps. All is right in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 6: Injury/Healing
> 
> This has been in my drafts since last July, and I wasn't sure I was ever going to finish it, but I did. In like 15 minutes tonight. Because I needed to post something for today, darn it.

“Ah, quiznak!”

Shiro’s ears perked up at the sound of Pidge’s voice, his eyebrows knitting together in concern.

Something had gone wrong in the Green Lion’s hangar?

Shiro changed course and headed there, calling out, “Pidge? Everything okay in here?”

“Quiznak!” Pidge repeated, and Shiro stepped further into the room, not sure if the youngest Paladin had heard him.

“Pidge?” he asked again, finally spotting her.

Pidge was hunched over Green’s giant paw, clutching something near her middle.

Shiro’s brain cycled through several scenarios in the span of about five seconds as he crossed the distance to his youngest teammate and hovered just behind her, asking again, “Pidge? Everything all right? What happened?”

Pidge sucked in a breath, replying automatically, “It’s nothing, Shiro. I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t lie to me, Katie,” Shiro ordered gently, using the name as a sort of code for her to take him seriously.

Pidge scowled and uncurled herself to sit up straight, giving Shiro a good look at the gash in her palm.

“Keep pressure on that,” he told her quickly, standing and heading to where Green’s medical kit was stored.

The kits were in nearly the same place in each Lion, but Shiro had made it his business as Head of Voltron to know _exactly_ where they were in each Lion for situations such as this.

…Assuming the team put their kits back in their proper spots after using or restocking them, which Shiro was pleased to see Pidge had done.

Striding back out to his teammate, Shiro set the kit down and pried Pidge’s hands away from her abdomen, holding the injured one in his Galra hand while his human hand pulled antiseptic and bandages from the kit.

Pidge was unusually quiet as he worked and Shiro asked again, “What happened, Pidge?”

She sighed, watching him work for a moment longer before she replied, “I was trying to rewire Green’s cloaking mechanism and ended up slicing my hand on something in its paw.”

Green rumbled behind them apologetically and Shiro threw the Lion a quick smile.

“I see,” he replied. “And _why_ were you trying to rewire Green’s cloaking device?”

“After the wormhole, it was being glitchy,” Pidge replied quickly.

Shiro pondered that while he wound bandages around Pidge’s hand, impressed that she hadn’t flinched at the antiseptic and relieved that the wound didn’t seem to require stitches.

“Next time, be a little more careful, okay?”

Pidge just grunted non-commitally and Shiro sighed, figuring that was the best answer he was going to get.

“All right, you should be all good,” he pronounced, completely unsurprised when Pidge turned immediately back to Green and assessed the Lion’s systems on her laptop.

Shiro ruffled her hair, ignoring her annoyed growl, and went to put the med kit away before he left the hangar to check on the rest of the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IDK cloaking stuff and Lion paws. The cloaking was the first thing to pop into my head when I was originally typing this, and I never changed it. And I wanted a reason for Pidge to be on the ground near a paw, so I made it fit.
> 
> Fun fact: A week and a half before posting this, I sliced my finger open at work. It was bad, and I probably should have gotten stitches, but I didn't want to deal with that. My boss helped me clean it out and bandage it, and it's healing decently, in my opinion. It's going to scar, but that's okay. I think. Hah. I'm also being extra-careful with box cutters from now on.


	6. AU Wormhole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If it hadn't been Red sucked through with Black, but Green.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this around the same time as the last chapter, and I almost posted it as yesterday's chapter because it deals with injury as well, but I figured it fit better in the AU chapter.
> 
> I know this has been done, and that the way they all separate in the wormhole doesn’t necessarily lead to this combination of Lions being near each other, but I marathoned VLD TWICE in a week and have so many Pidge feels, y’all. And of course, since this was written within a week of S1 dropping, it's WAY AU.

Pidge tried not to panic as Green was sucked through the wormhole wall and separated from the team. The Lions’ radios seemed to be affected by whatever had caused the wormhole instability, so calling for help was useless, as was figuring out where they were all headed.

She would find them again, she was sure. She had to.

Green’s alarm bells were going off, the lights flashing in warning as Pidge tried to steady the Lion.

A particularly hard jolt caused Green to shudder and Pidge to be jarred around in her seat. Her head snapped backward, into the seat, and Pidge saw stars.

Finally, Green broke through atmosphere and Pidge could see a planet below.

Inexplicably, the Black Lion was coming up on the same planet, and the last thing Pidge thought before Green crashed and the world went black was, _Shiro is here, too. It’ll all be fine._

x

The first thing Shiro noticed upon landing was that he was incredibly lucky: Black hadn’t been damaged as much as it could have been, and Shiro had sustained only minor injuries that wouldn’t cause too much trouble as he searched for his team.

He scanned the planet he’d landed on with a critical eye, searching for anything out of the ordinary or dangerous.

Smoke rose from some sort of wreck a mile or so to his south, and Shiro’s blood froze in his veins when he realized it was another Lion.

Quickly, he assessed Black’s condition, trying to determine if the Lion could get to the wreck or if running on foot would be faster.

Black rumbled assuredly at him, promising that it could make it that distance.

Shiro settled back into his pilot seat quickly, urging his Lion in the direction of the crash.

As he drew closer, his heart sank further: the Lion that lay with limbs at odd angles and smoke pouring from its back was Green.

As soon as he was close enough, Shiro stopped Black and leaped from his cockpit, racing to Green’s head and calling for Pidge.

Green seemed to be groaning, but lowered its jaw so that Shiro could race to its cockpit, dreading what he might find.

Pidge was slumped in the pilot’s seat, unconscious, and bleeding from at least one injury.

Shiro rushed into action, assessing Pidge’s condition before carefully pulling her from her seat, hoping he didn’t jar any injuries and cause more bleeding.

Once Pidge was lying down, Shiro snatched up Green’s medical kit, glad he had insisted on knowing exactly where each one was in any given Lion.

There was a blanket in the kit, and Shiro set it under Pidge’s head as he pulled off her helmet, wincing as the cut on her forehead and bruising became apparent. She must have hit her head in the crash.

There wasn’t much he could do for the bruises at the moment, and that gash on her forehead was concerning.

Quickly, adrenaline and training taking over, Shiro bandaged Pidge’s forehead, and then he sighed as he realized there was blood leaking through the armor on her arm.

“What happened to you, Pidge?” he wondered out loud, even more grateful that he had made it out with only scrapes and bruises.

The only way to get to the wound on her arm was to remove her armor, and Shiro winced slightly as he did that, hissing, “Sorry, Pidge. This might be uncomfortable.”

He was relieved that all of their armor was relatively easy to remove, but still felt as though he was invading Katie’s privacy by having to remove hers.

Her under-armor looked intact other than the spot on her arm, and Shiro was glad for that, sliding the sleeve up to reach the wound.

The gash was a couple of inches long, and the edges looked burned, almost as though Pidge’s bayard had shocked her, or Green had experienced an electrical malfunction and Pidge had been caught in the middle.

“Oh, Katie,” Shiro whispered, wincing at the sight.

Pidge was resilient, certainly, and had dealt with many an injury from training and missions, but this one might actually scar regardless of what Shiro tried to fix it.

Sighing, he pulled a salve from the medical kit and unscrewed the cover, wondering if this might wake Pidge and almost wishing it wouldn’t.

To his great surprise and slight relief, Pidge barely stirred as Shiro applied the salve, only groaning a little before falling back into unconsciousness, which on second thought was probably not okay.

He had to get her awake and talking.

“Pidge,” he tried when he had finished bandaging all her scrapes and other injuries.

“Katie!” he nearly barked, gripping her arm a little tighter in hopes she would stir at the pressure, “I need you to wake up now, Pidge.”

Pidge stirred a little bit, her eyelids twitching slightly, and Shiro set his human hand over hers, rubbing gentle circles with his thumb.

“Katie? Can you hear me?” he asked loudly but gently, watching her face scrunch up as she finally woke with a groan.

Shiro sighed, relieved, his grip on Pidge’s hand tightening for just a second as she tried to sit up.

“I need you to stay down, Pidge,” Shiro said apologetically as Pidge’s gaze ticked over to her arm and she winced.

“Is that going to scar?” she asked warily, frowning at him.

“Probably,” Shiro confirmed, his gaze soft as Pidge sighed.

“Well, at least it’ll make me feel like an official part of the team,” she joked, grinning lightly at him.

The scar over his nose twinged for the first time in months, and Shiro blinked.

“A _scar_ is what is going to make you feel like part of the team?” he asked, tilting his head as Pidge shrugged.

“Well, you have one, and the others don’t think I know about theirs, but I do.”

Shiro frowned. “Hunk has scars?”

“It’s just one little one, and it’s from when he was a kid, but it’s there,” Pidge nodded.

“Huh. I didn’t know that.”

Pidge grinned at him, and then grimaced, reaching for her forehead.

“You must have hit your head pretty good,” Shiro explained, and Pidge nodded slowly.

“When we started crashing, Green shook a lot and I hit my head. I thought my helmet would have taken the brunt of it, but I guess maybe it didn’t.”

“Well, it protected you better than without a helmet,” Shiro pointed out, brushing a finger over the bandage to make sure it was still secure.

Pidge flinched slightly and Shiro winced sympathetically. 

“Sorry.”

Pidge made a noise of dismissal, and then finally seemed to realize that she was down to her under-armor, judging by the way her gaze darted away and her face grew pink.

Shiro shrugged awkwardly, trying to stop himself from flushing (seriously? He was much more dignified than that, he insisted to his brain) as he explained, “It was the only way to get to your arm.” 

“Yeah,” Pidge replied quickly, nodding sharply and then grimacing as the action irritated her forehead injury.

“Easy,” Shiro almost laughed, squeezing her hand subconsciously.

Pidge looked down at his human hand, frowning for a second, and Shiro nearly pulled his hand away with another apology, but Pidge squeezed back, smiling gently at him.

“Thanks,” she said quietly. “I’m really glad I got stuck with you instead of Lance.”

Shiro mock-glared at her, chastising gently, “Hey, Lance is getting better.”

“Still, I’d rather have you or Hunk for company,” Pidge admitted, shrugging slightly. “Lance talks too much, and Keith doesn’t talk enough. At least you and Hunk both know when to shut up.”

Shiro hummed in amusement, smiling at his youngest teammate.

“Shiro?” Pidge asked suddenly, glancing at him nervously.

“Hm?” he asked, adjusting the blanket under her head.

“Will you tell me about your mission? With my dad and Matt?”

Shiro froze for a moment, unsure how to proceed.

Then he smiled and began, “Your dad was constantly singing and making jokes.”

Katie snorted, a smile on her face as she interrupted, “That sounds like Dad. Let me guess, he sang super old country songs and made awful jokes.”

Shiro smiled back, confirming, “Yeah, Matt always just kind of shook his head and tried not to laugh.”

Katie motioned for him to keep talking and Shiro grinned as he continued, “Matt told his share of jokes, too. But mostly he was focused on his two favorite things.”

He paused there, watching Pidge’s gaze turn curious, and explained, “Science, and his little sister.”

Pidge’s smile turned sad and Shiro almost regretted what he’d said.

But he squeezed her hand and smiled gently, and Pidge’s gaze softened as a tear trickled down her cheek. She reached to swipe at it, embarrassed, but Shiro beat her to it, smiling as he brushed a thumb across her cheek.

“You don’t have to be ashamed of tears, Pidge. Especially when they’re caused by happy memories.”

Pidge sniffed, but nodded carefully, squeezing his hand again to show her understanding, and Shiro continued.

“Matt didn’t shut up about you, you know. I knew more about Katie Holt than I did about myself by the time I … escaped.”

Pidge sniffed a little, but smiled anyway, squeezing his hand lightly yet again.

Shiro smiled back, taking a moment to collect his thoughts, before continuing, “I felt pretty dumb for not realizing that Pidge was Katie before you said that the Commander was your father.”

Pidge chuckled at that, and Shiro continued telling stories until he ran out of good ones., finding that despite the guilt the memories dragged to the surface, being able to remember the good things and share them with Pidge shoved that guilt back down until it was nearly snuffed out.

Before he knew it, Allura was in his ear, and he nearly jumped.

“I’m here with Pidge, Princess,” he reported, smiling as Allura relayed the castle-ship’s location and an estimated time that she and Coran would reach him and Pidge after they fixed a couple more minor issues.

“We’ll be here,” he promised, glancing at Pidge. “Pidge could use a pod, but we should be okay until you arrive.”

“Oh, I’m glad that neither of you require immediate medical attention,” Allura breathed. “We’ve located Keith and Lance and it sounds like Lance could use assistance as soon as we can get to him.”

Shiro tensed at that, glancing back to Pidge, who shrugged.

“If Lance is closer to you or requires more immediate assistance, Pidge and I can wait a little longer.”

Allura was silent for a moment, considering her options, and finally sighed as she replied, “We’ll retrieve Lance and Keith first and then come for you and Pidge. We haven’t been able to pinpoint Hunk’s location yet, but I’m sure we’ll narrow it down soon enough.”

“We’ll find him. Hunk can handle himself for a while,” Shiro replied, hoping that his Yellow Paladin was holding his own, wherever he was. And who knew, maybe having four of the Lions together could give them a better read on Yellow.

“Very well. We’ll pick up Lance and Keith and I will let you know when we expect to wormhole to your location.”

“Copy that,” Shiro confirmed, and then the comms went quiet.

“I hope Lance is okay,” Pidge said quietly, looking up at him apprehensively.

“He’ll be fine. He’s got Keith and Red and Blue to look after him.”

“Assuming Keith doesn’t try to smother him because he’s being annoying,” Pidge muttered, though a tiny smile played at her lips.

“They’ll be fine,” Shiro replied with a smile, shifting forward so he could check Pidge’s bandage again.

The bleeding from her forehead seemed to have slowed, which was good, and she was still alert and talking to him, which was a very good sign.

As long as nothing else drastic happened, they would be fine until the castle-ship could get to them.

Shiro launched back into a story he’d nearly forgotten of one particularly strange week of his journey to Kerberos, and Pidge laughed more at that story than he’d seen her laugh in the whole time they’d been out in space together.

Sharing really was caring, he mused as he listened to Pidge recount stories of life at home before Kerberos, smiling and laughing along with her as they awaited Allura and the others.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from a quote by Khalil Gibran: "In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed."


End file.
